The Neapolitan coffee recipe is nothing exceptional, but this drink is famous all over the world and is considered unique. What makes it so is not the recipe, but the method of preparation. It is impossible to make Neapolitan coffee without a special coffee pot - a geyser coffee maker. Outwardly, it resembles two vessels connected to each other with a “layer” of a small container with filters in which coffee is placed. Passing through this container, the water is saturated with the taste and aroma of coffee. The result is quite Reviver with delicate foam. It is served hot.
Features of the technology
As already mentioned, the main thing in Neapolitan coffee is the way it is prepared, but there are other secrets. If you want something really tasty, aromatic drink, it is advisable to take into account all the little things.
- To make Neapolitan coffee, any type of coffee is suitable, but not too finely ground. If the grind is very fine, the coffee will fall into the main container, making it difficult to drink ready drink It won't be as nice. For this reason, medium grind coffee is preferred. However, many people prefer to use finely ground coffee and take the time to strain it later. This is also acceptable.
- Coffee will have a richer aroma if it is ground before brewing and stored as beans.
You need to know how to use a geyser coffee maker correctly:
- Pour water into the lower container (without a spout) up to the mark (no more and no less, regardless of how many servings of the drink you want to brew).
- Pour the powder into a coffee container. The container should be full, but you cannot press the coffee in it too hard, otherwise the liquid will take too long to pass through it. But if the coffee is not compacted at all, there may be no foam; this also does not hurt to take into account.
- Screw the top tightly. Your safety depends on the reliability of the fastening.
- Place the coffee maker on the stove or turn it on if you have an electric one.
- After the characteristic hissing tells you that the drink is ready, remove the coffee pot from the heat and turn it over, wait until the coffee has filtered (this takes up to 15 minutes), then pour it into cups. In some modern geyser coffee makers, there is no need to turn over, since the liquid enters the upper part and remains there during brewing.
- It is advisable to pour coffee into heated cups. This will allow it to stay hot longer and exude a charming fragrance.
- The quality of water also matters for the taste of the drink and for the service life of the coffee maker. Therefore, before cooking, it is advisable to soften the liquid, for example, by passing it through a special filter.
Neapolitan coffee is often made black, but cappuccino or latte are also possible. However, they can only be cooked in a device with a special valve. In any case, Neapolitan coffee is a very strong drink, and it is not advisable for people with a tendency to hypertension to drink it.
Neapolitan coffee recipe
- finely ground coffee (preferably for brewing in a cup) – 18 g;
- medium ground coffee – 12 g;
- softened water – 0.2 l.
Cooking method:
- Fill the bottom of the coffee maker with water to the desired level. The capacity of the reservoir may vary; if your coffee maker holds more than 200 ml, then the amount of coffee should also be adjusted.
- Mix approximately equal parts of fine and medium grind coffee (2 teaspoons each). Set a teaspoon of finely ground coffee aside for now.
- Pour the mixed coffee through a special straw into the container provided, lightly compacting it.
- Attach the coffee filter to the top of the water container.
- Screw the top reservoir tightly.
- Turn on the device or put it on fire. After the signal that the drink is ready, turn the device over, if this is provided by the manufacturer (this information is contained in the operating instructions for your coffee maker).
- Warm up the cups and add half a teaspoon of finely ground coffee into it.
- Pour the prepared coffee into cups.
Serve Neapolitan coffee immediately after preparation. It takes quite a long time to prepare, and if you don’t serve it right away, it will turn out to be too cool and therefore less tasty.
If you want to make sweet coffee in Neapolitan style, the first small portion, about 20 ml, should be poured as soon as it is ready and whipped into foam with two tablespoons of sugar. This foam is used to decorate the drink after it has been poured into cups.
Neapolitan coffee almost always has a delicate foam, its rich taste and bright coffee aroma captivate. So it should not be surprising that the method of preparing a drink, once used only in one place, is now known throughout the world.
Varlamov A., Balestrino J. Physics of coffee preparation // Quantum. - 2001. - No. 4. - P. 2-7.
By special agreement with the editorial board and editors of the journal "Kvant"
A traveler traveling from one country to another may notice that in our age of standardization and the dominance of transnational monopolies, when the same cold drinks served in New York and Kathmandu, the coffee market remains surprisingly colorful and diverse. The drink from the same coffee beans is prepared and drunk differently in Turkey and Egypt, in Italy and France, in Finland and the USA. When you order coffee in a bar somewhere in Naples, you will receive an elegant cup slightly larger than a thimble, at the bottom of which a thick drop of almost black color, covered with delicious foam, slowly sways. However, by making the same order in Chicago, you will receive a half-liter plastic container filled with hot water brownish color. We do not undertake to judge which drink is tastier or healthier, but simply discuss various methods of preparing coffee and the physical processes associated with them.
Boiled coffee
This is one of the ancient methods of preparing a coffee drink, preserved to this day in the north of Scandinavia. Roasted and coarsely ground coffee is poured into water in the amount of 10 grams per 150-190 milliliters of water and boiled in a coffee pot for about 10 minutes. Then the drink is poured into cups without filtering and allowed to settle for several minutes. There is no interesting physics in this process, and the authors refrain from commenting on the taste qualities of this drink.
Coffee maker with paper filter
This coffee maker is widespread in the USA, northern Europe, Germany and France. Its operating principle is extremely simple, and the process of preparing coffee takes 6-8 minutes. Coarsely ground coffee is poured into a conical filter made of special filter paper. Then it drips onto the ground coffee from above hot water, “washes” it, seeps through the filter and collects in a glass vessel. The result is a light coffee drink: only a few coffee oils seep through the dense paper filter, and coarse grinding and the absence of excess pressure do not contribute to the complete extraction of all coffee aromas. The American dose is 5-6 g of coffee per 150-190 ml of water, the European dose is 10 g per cup.
"Turkish coffee"
The description of the process of preparing such coffee already deserves attention. The coffee beans are ground into a dust (fine grind) and this powder, often along with sugar, is poured into a metal (usually copper or brass) cone-shaped coffee maker called a cezve. Then she floods cold water and plunges up to the neck into hot sand (according to another recipe, ground coffee is placed on the surface of already hot water). Heating of the liquid occurs due to heat transfer from the sand through the bottom and side walls of the cezve. In the absence of sand, you can use low heat gas stove, electric stove, etc. As a result of heating the bottom layers, convection currents arise: the hot liquid carries coffee particles upward to the surface, where, thanks to the forces of surface tension, they are retained and form a “coffee crust.” Gradually, the contents of the cezve are brought to a boil: bubbles break through the crust and foam forms. At this point, the cezve is removed from the sand (or removed from the stove), since boiling “kills” the coffee. The procedure of bringing the drink to a boil is repeated two more times, which leads to the formation of abundant foam. The resulting liquid is poured into small cups and waited until the sediment sinks to the bottom. The result is a tasty, thick drink, especially if the amount of water was relatively small.
The disadvantage of this method is the presence of a suspension of coffee powder in the resulting drink, which gradually settles to the bottom of the cup. There is even a method of fortune telling using “coffee grounds”.
Italian mocha
One of the most common coffee makers for homemade coffee in Italy is mocha. It consists of three parts: a lower truncated cone (heater), into which water is poured, a metal filter, into which medium-ground coffee is poured, and, finally, an upper truncated cone, where the finished drink accumulates. This coffee maker is designed to prepare a drink of a certain consistency: water should be poured to the level of the valve in the heater, the filter should be filled completely - approximately 6 g per serving in 50 ml of water.
The process of making mocha coffee is quite entertaining. Coffee powder is poured into the filter and compacted; water is poured into the lower part of the mocha. The mocha is tightly screwed along the thread connecting the upper and lower cones. (The upper strainer covers the filter cylinder. Additional insulation from the external environment is a rubber gasket placed between the upper and lower cones.) The coffee maker is placed on low heat. The preparation process consists of bringing water to a boil in a heater, then passing it through coffee powder, further raising the drink prepared in this way through the tube and draining it into the volume of the upper cone. After this, the coffee is ready to be poured (through the spout) into cups.
Everything seems simple and clear. But what is the “driver” of the described process? Of course, fire. First, the water is heated to a boil, then the boiling process begins in a closed volume, where much more space is allocated to the water than to the steam above its surface. The temperature passes through 100 °C, the steam above the surface of the water remains saturated all the time, its pressure exceeds 1 atm and continues to increase. The external pressure, up to the upper level of the filter, is equal to atmospheric pressure. Saturated steam with a temperature above 100 ° C begins to play the role of a compressed spring, pushing slightly superheated boiling water through the coffee powder contained in the filter. At the same time, all the aromas, oils and other components that turn the water into a wonderful drink are extracted from the coffee. It is clear that the properties of this drink depend both on the coffee powder itself located in the filter, and on the temperature of the water and the time it flows through the filter. The secrets of blending coffee beans, roasting and grinding them are the secrets of each manufacturer, based on talent, work and centuries of experience. What determines the time of liquid flow through the filter, we can understand without industrial espionage, based only on the laws of physics.
In the mid-nineteenth century, French engineers A. Darcy and J. Dupuis made the first experimental observations of the movement of water in pipes filled with sand. These studies laid the foundation for the creation of the theory of filtration, which today is successfully used to describe the movement of liquids, gases and their mixtures through solids containing interconnected pores or cracks. In addition to creating the first perfect water supply system in Europe in the city of Dijon, Darcy formulated the so-called linear filtration law, which today bears his name. It relates the volumetric flow rate of liquid Q through a sand filter, the length of which L, and the area S, with water level difference Δ N above the filter and at its base:
\(~Q = \frac(k_f S \Delta H)(L)\) .
The filtration coefficient included in this formula k f depends both on the nature of the porous medium and on the properties of the flowing liquid. These properties can be easily separated:
\(~k_f = \frac(k \rho g)(\eta)\) .
at the same time moving from the level difference characterizing a specific filter to the pressure difference on both sides of it Δ R = ρqΔ N:
\(~w = \frac(k)(\eta) \frac(\Delta p)(L)\) .
Here \(~w = \frac QS\) is the so-called filtration rate, showing how much liquid flows through a unit filter surface area per unit time, coefficient η characterizes the viscosity of the liquid, and the coefficient k is a characteristic of only a porous medium and is called the permeability coefficient (it has the dimension of area). It should be noted that permeability expressed in SI units is usually very small. So, for coarse sandstones it is 10 -12 - 10 -13 m 2, for dense sandstones 10 -14 m 2. In the oil field, a special unit is used for the permeability coefficient - Darcy (D): 1D = 1.02·10 -12 m 2.
Let's try to apply Darcy's law to the study of our mocha. For example, it is interesting to know to what temperature the boiling water in the lower part of the coffee maker overheats. Let us estimate the pressure difference between the lower and upper sides of the filter using the Darcy formula:
\(~\Delta p = \frac(w \eta L)(k) = \frac(m \eta L)(S \rho kt)\) .
The characteristic filter dimensions of a mocha for three servings are as follows: L= 1 cm and S= 50 cm 2 ; mass of coffee m= 150 g runs for t= 3 min. We can take the permeability coefficient to be of the same order as for coarse-grained sandstone: k≈ 10 -13 m 2. Density of water ρ = 10 3 kg/m 3. You need to be careful with viscosity, as it is highly dependent on temperature; however, in the tables of physical quantities one can find that η (100 °C) = 10 -3 Pa s. As a result, we get Δ R~ 10 4 Pa. The corresponding boiling point of water, according to the known pressure dependence graph saturated steam from the boiling point, is T* = 105 °C.
So, we have understood the normal process of making coffee in an Italian mocha. However, there are dark rumors that at times these coffee makers run amok and turn into bombs, threatening the ceilings and walls of kitchens, not to mention nearby coffee drinkers. Why and how can this happen?
It is clear that the first thing that can become clogged or oxidized is the emergency valve made in the lower part of the mocha precisely in order to allow steam to escape in the event of its unplanned overheating. This is why old coffee makers become dangerous. The second cause of the “disaster” may be the obstruction of the filter itself, filled with coffee powder. There may be various reasons for this. The most exotic, in the spirit of a detective story about the life of the Neapolitan mafia: a sophisticated killer stuffed the top straw with coffee left in an unwashed coffee maker from yesterday. A more realistic one is this: tightly compacted (unknowingly to make it stronger) coffee powder that is too finely ground for mocha becomes impenetrable to water. Under the influence of continued heating, the pressure in the lower vessel will increase unacceptably high, the water will make a channel in the filter and rip the upper part of the coffee maker off the thread. What is the reason for such impenetrability of the filter?
It turns out that the whole point is the limited applicability of Darcy's law. Indeed, the linear filtration law is written without taking into account capillary phenomena. A porous medium can be represented as a complex system of connected voids and capillaries. A liquid can flow through a capillary with a radius r only in the case when the pressure difference at the ends of the capillary exceeds \(~\frac(2 \sigma)(r)\), where σ - surface tension coefficient. The pressure difference at the ends of the capillary can be estimated as \(~\frac(\Delta p)(N)\), where Δ R- pressure difference across the filter, and N- the average number of capillaries that fit within the thickness of the filter. Let's take it for evaluation N~10.Δ R~ 10 4 Pa, σ = 0.07 N/m. We find that already with an average radius of capillaries r~ 0.1 mm, some of them may be blocked for liquid flow at a normal pressure difference across the filter.
At first glance, there is nothing wrong with this - after all, some of the capillary pores will have a larger radius and will be able to pass liquid. However, a closer analysis shows that this may not be enough. It is necessary to require that the fraction of unclosed pores be greater than a certain critical value. Otherwise, the open pore system will not penetrate the filter from one boundary to the other; moving through these pores, we can only take a few steps and will inevitably run into an impenetrable capillary. They say that in this case the system of open pores lost its “connectivity” and ceased to permeate the entire space; it was fragmented into many small groups of pores connected to each other (such groups are called clusters).
The properties of systems with broken or limited connectivity are studied by a special branch of statistical physics called percolation theory (from percolation- leakage). The critical concentration (fraction) of elements at which the system loses connectivity is called the percolation threshold. The theory of percolation studies not only the conditions for stopping the flow (of current, liquid) through a system, but also the properties of the so-called weak flow, i.e. slightly above the percolation threshold (when the flow occurs through a small number of through capillary passages). It turns out that the dependence of the flow rate on the concentration of free pores (which in our case depends on pressure) has a complex power law character (with a fractional exponent), i.e. is not at all similar to Darcy's law, which comes into force only when flow occurs through a developed system of permeable pores.
However, let's return to our coffee filter. In this case, the proportion of permeable pores depends on the pressure difference across the filter and on the average pore radius, which, in turn, depends on the degree of coffee grinding. If the powder is excessively crushed, the average pore radius decreases, and their number per filter thickness increases; as a result, the system may turn out to be impenetrable up to a threshold pressure difference of several atmospheres. And then the following may happen. In a filter compressed by excess pressure, the average pore radius will decrease even more, which will lead to an increase in the threshold pressure difference, and this will lead to further pressing of the coffee in the filter... In short, a vicious vicious circle will form: the temperature in the lower vessel will increase, along with the pressure will also increase. Finally, at some pressure, the water will still make a channel for itself and break through the filter. At best, you will get bad coffee - after all, only a small part of the powder was used, and the temperature is too high. In the worst case, the pressure will rise so much that the thread will not withstand it, and the coffee maker will explode.
Let's estimate the maximum (theoretical) damage that a mocha can cause by turning into a heat bomb. We will assume the worst: everything that could be clogged is clogged, and 150 g of water is heated in a closed volume, not much larger than the volume of the water itself. At a temperature on the order of critical (where the vapor density is compared with the density of water), which for water is equal to T k = 373 °C = 646 K, all water will turn into steam. Further heating is possible, but the mocha itself will glow - something no one has ever seen. So, for the ultimate estimate, let’s assume that the sealed mocha was heated to a temperature of about T= 600 K. By writing the Mendeleev-Clapeyron equation, you can easily estimate the pressure in the lower part:
\(~p = \frac mM \frac(RT)(V)\) .
Believing m= 150 g, V= 200 cm 3, M= 18 g/mol, R= 8.31 J/(mol K), we find that R~ 10 8 Pa = 10 3 atm - this is a pressure of the order of that existing at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. And the energy stored in the coffee maker at this temperature is impressive\[~E = \frac 52 pV\] ~ 50 kJ, so the explosion would accelerate individual parts of the mocha to speeds of the order of hundreds of meters per second.
From the above estimates it is clear that the thread will not withstand much earlier. But the powerful force stored in the coffee maker due to excess heating is also obvious: it is really more than enough to not only splash the entire kitchen with a failed drink, but also cause other troubles. So keep an eye on the valve, choose the right grind of coffee, pour it into the filter without heaping and, most importantly, do not compact it.
Mocha coffee turns out strong and aromatic, without sediment, but is still inferior in its taste qualities espresso coffee served in good bar. The main reason for this, apparently, is the relatively high temperature of the boiling water forced through the filter by superheated steam. Therefore, the recipe for improving the quality of coffee when preparing it in a mocha is as follows: place the coffee maker on very low heat. In this case, the filtration process will proceed more slowly, however, the steam in the lower vessel will not overheat too much.
Probably, very good coffee can be prepared in a mocha while being in a high-mountain mountaineering shelter: there the external pressure is noticeably below 1 atm, and, for example, at the height of Everest, water boils at 74 ° C - so overheating the water in a mocha will just bring the temperature to optimal 90 - 95 °C.
Antique Neapolitan Napoletana coffee maker
This coffee maker is similar to a mocha, but instead of steam pressure filtration, it uses gravity filtration. It also consists of two vessels placed on top of each other and a filter filled with coffee between them. The water in the lower cylinder is brought to a boil, then the coffee maker is removed from the heat and turned over. Filtration occurs under the influence of the pressure of the water column of the order of several centimeters, so that Δ R does not exceed 0.01 atm. The process of making coffee here is noticeably slower than in mocha. We could experiment with brewing the same amount of coffee in both machines and, based on Darcy's law of the inverse proportionality of brewing time to applied pressure, check our previous estimate of the pressure in the mocha heater. However, in practice, for “Napoletana” coffee is chosen with a coarser grind than for mocha, otherwise the drink will be ready only after half an hour and will turn out to be cold.
Experts say that Napoletana coffee tastes better than mocha coffee: there is no harmful effect of overheated boiling water on coffee.
However, the high pace of modern life does not leave time for a philosophical conversation on the terrace overlooking Vesuvius and the beautiful Bay of Naples in pleasant anticipation of finally having a cup of a beneficial drink. This luxury remained in old paintings of Neapolitan life and in the works of Eduardo de Filippe.
"Espresso"
Not all Neapolitans were patient in past times. They say that in the last century, one of those residents of the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, who could not calmly wait at the Napoletana, convinced his friend, an engineer from Milan, to design a fundamentally new coffee maker that prepares an individual portion of a wonderful aromatic thick drink within half a minute.
Each cup of good coffee contains the secrets of growing and harvesting coffee beans, preparing the mixture and roasting it, grinding... Behind the pinnacle of coffee art - a small cup of Italian "espresso" - there is also high technology. The device for preparing “espresso”, also called espresso, is much larger and more impressive than its colleagues described above. Typically, such machines are found in bars and restaurants, but for coffee connoisseurs and lovers, there are also home versions of this machine. The La Pavoni company, which has been producing such coffee makers since 1905, is one of the oldest, and its products are known all over the world.
In espresso, water with a temperature of 90 - 94 ° C is forced under a pressure of 9 - 16 atm through a filter with specially ground coffee powder, even finer than for mocha. The whole process takes 15-25 seconds, as a result of which 1 - 2 servings of coffee are produced, 20 - 35 ml each - for you personally and, perhaps, for your interlocutor. The process of liquid flowing through a filter with coffee powder is described by the same Darcy’s law as in mocha, but the pressure difference applied to the filter is tens of times greater, and the temperature, on the contrary, is below 100 °C. These parameters are specially selected so that high temperatures do not destroy the unstable fractions of the coffee drink. The relatively short time of interaction of water with the powder, together with high pressure, leaves everything unnecessary in the powder and extracts all the best from it: emulsions of coffee oils form the thickness of the drink that cannot be achieved in any other way; its aroma is preserved by the presence of foam, which does not allow the volatile components to disappear. "Espresso", oddly enough, contains less caffeine - due to the short contact of water with the powder (20 - 30 s versus 4 - 5 min) in the filter and the small volume of it, all the caffeine does not have time to be extracted.
The first example of espresso was exhibited in Paris in 1855. In modern stationary devices that make up the equipment of bars and restaurants, water is supplied under the required pressure using a special pump included in the design. In a classic espresso machine, hot water from the heating cylinder, when the handle is raised, fills the chamber above the filter and is then forced through the filter manually by lowering the handle; high pressure is created due to the dynamic resistance of the coffee filter and the lever effect, which greatly increases the force of the hand.
It is interesting to observe the behavior of the coffee stream flowing from the spout as the cup fills. At first this stream flows well, then weakens and at some point turns into drops. The authors observed the same phenomenon in the mountains: the sun warmed the snow on the roof, and a stream of melt water flowed down the icicle, now in a stream, now in a drop. Let's try to estimate that critical volumetric water flow Q k, at which a change of regimes occurs. For simplicity, we will talk about an icicle, although the results will also apply to a coffee maker.
Let the water flow slowly down the icicle. It is clear that as long as the volumetric flow rate of water is very small, a jet will not work. Indeed, at the end of the icicle, water will collect in a drop, the drop will grow slowly, reach a certain critical size, break off... and the process will repeat. Since we agreed that the water consumption is very small, the process can be considered almost static. Under equilibrium conditions, the detachment of a drop occurs when its gravity mg exceeds the surface tension force \(~F_(\sigma) = 2 \pi \sigma r\), acting along the perimeter along the waist (we designated its radius r):
\(~mg = 2 \pi \sigma r\) .
The time to “fill” such a drop is obviously equal to
\(~t_k = \frac(m)(\rho Q_k)\) .
It is clear that the process of tearing off a drop also takes some time. The drop, under the influence of surface tension and gravity, is almost in a state of equilibrium. But when its mass reaches a critical value and surface tension can no longer compensate for gravity, the bridge breaks. Characteristic time of jumper rupture τ can be obtained from considerations of dimensional theory: a fluid with viscosity η must be moved a distance of the order r under the influence of surface tension forces with a coefficient σ . Let's write down the equality:
\(~\tau = r^(\alpha) \eta^(\beta) \sigma(\chi)\)
and compare the dimensions of the right and left sides:
C = m α · (kg/(m s)) β · (kg/s 2) χ .
From here we get
\(~\begin(matrix) 1 = \beta - 2 \chi \\ 0 = \alpha - \beta \\ 0 = \beta + \chi \end(matrix)\) ,
\(~\alpha = \beta = -\chi = 1\) ,
\(~\tau = \frac(r \eta)(\sigma)\) .
Now it is clear that the change in droplet and jet modes occurs at such a volumetric flow rate of water, when the next drop has not yet had time to come off before a new one is already approaching, i.e. at
\(~t_k \sim \tau\) , or \(~\frac(m)(\rho Q_k) = \frac(r \eta)(\sigma)\).
Expressing the mass of a drop from the condition of its equilibrium through the force of surface tension, we find the final beautiful formula:
\(~Q_k = \frac(2 \pi \sigma^2)(\eta \rho g)\) .
However, operating not with the volumetric flow rate of water, but with the mass flow rate, one could immediately obtain this formula from an analysis of dimensions and the observation that Q k should not depend on the size of the icicle tip (the icicle melts and the tip “adjusts”). In the case of a metal spout of a coffee maker, its size, in principle, can influence the value of the critical flow, but not much, so the estimate found for the icicle is quite applicable for the spout of a coffee maker.
Instant coffee
The constant rush of modern life has led to the emergence instant coffee. It is made from real coffee, which is ground and kept at high temperature and very low pressure. Water sublimates, and the remaining powder is placed in vacuum packaging, where it can be stored for a very long time without losing its properties. Before use, it is simply dissolved in hot water.
Variations on the theme "espresso"
With a coffee maker that makes espresso and a good coffee blend, you can make a whole range of coffee drinks. So, in an Italian bar you can get: caffe'ristretto- “short coffee”, prepared with a normal amount of coffee, but less water; caffe'lungo- “extended coffee”, prepared with a normal amount of coffee, but a larger amount of water; caffe'machiato- the same “espresso”, but with the addition of a small amount of milk; caffe'coretto- “espresso” with the addition of liqueur, whiskey or vodka. "Deserves special discussion" capuccino" - "espresso", poured into the bottom of a medium-sized cup and poured milk on top, whipped with hot steam to the state of airy foam. A good bartender can pour this milk onto his coffee so that the first letter of your name, written in brown on a white background, appears on the surface. Or you can simply sprinkle the snow-white foam with cocoa powder or chocolate chips.
Finally, they say that in some places in Naples they still serve caffe prepagato. It looks like this. A well-dressed signor comes in with a companion or a friend and orders: “Three coffees!” Two for us and one caffe prepagato" After some time, a tramp or just a poor man comes into the same bar and asks if caffe prepagato. And the bartender pours him a free cup of aromatic espresso. Naples remains Naples...
Coffee specialist Sergei Reminny talks about coffee culture native to Italian Naples.
""Caffetiera Napoletana". Behind it is a whole layer of culture of the vibrant and original southern Italian region of the province of Campania - Naples. The "new city" of Neapolis or elegantly sounding in the local dialect as "Napule" is a region with a full-fledged coffee history, worthy of a separate book I will return to this wonderful city in my stories, and today - a story about a GREAT, but almost a thing of the past coffee maker - “Caffetiera Napoletana”.
This Neapolitan lady is not from these parts. In fact, she is French. Yes, yes, it was there that its prototype was born almost two centuries ago, and it was called “French filter coffee maker” (“Caffettiera Francese a filtro”), sometimes adding the definition “two-story” (“a due piani”).
How this French creation came to Naples is not known for certain, but since the influence of French kings has always been strong in these parts (since the times of the Kingdom of Sicily), then, in general, there is nothing surprising in such assimilation.
Every third after words "traditional Neapolitan coffee maker" tried to show me a moca (most often Bialetti), being in full confidence that this was the famous “caffetiera Napoletana”. Oops... Here, with sadness (or maybe not with sadness), we must admit that in Neapolitan houses, where Bialetti moca began to penetrate in the second half of the last century, the latter won an almost unconditional victory. Moreover, Neapolitans (like many Italians in general) believe that only Bialetti can be a moka - the image of this brand is so strong...
There are reasons for this - traditional moka is more convenient in almost all aspects, but there is such a thing as TRADITION. It is thanks to her that the “Neapolitan woman” is still alive. Although memories of her are increasingly becoming the lot of older generations...
Almost all families that have caffettiera Napoletana also have moca. One Neapolitan taxi driver defined the purpose of their use as follows: “In moka we make coffee when we want to make a small amount of coffee - just for ourselves or at most for ourselves and one other person. And from “napoletana” - when company comes, or simply when a lot of people drink coffee. But, for example, my wife, who drinks 7-8 cups of coffee a day, makes it from Napoletana only for herself.
And since “Napoletana” is usually large, she prepares a full coffee maker, pours part of it for herself, sugars it and drinks it, and leaves the rest and drinks it little by little during the day, straight cold” (here I note that other narrators still reheat this coffee, although they prepare it in the same way “in reserve”).
In fact, the “napoletana” is one of the variations of filter coffee makers and uses the physics of boiling water and gravity. By the way, within the species “Napoletana” there is great amount subspecies of coffee makers.
The outstanding Neapolitan film actor Eduardo de Filippo in the comedy “Questi fantasmi” (“Ghosts”) in the famous scene with coffee, he sits on the balcony and the most colorful describes the poetry of the Neapolitan coffee maker, with "cuppetiello" on her nose.
I watched this episode at least ten times in a row. And periodically I watch it again and again. Because, my God, with what love De Filippo talks about making coffee! And in general, in my opinion, this scene is the BEST episode dedicated to coffee in ALL world cinema. I am 100% sure of this... Of course, to fully understand it you need to know Italian and hear the Neapolitan specificity of speech, but even without this, the episode is permeated with a love for coffee that is impossible not to feel...
Apparently, this is because, as the Neapolitans say: “A che bellu cafe sol a napl o san fa!” –
One Neapolitan guy told me that he remembers from childhood how his grandmother, when she made coffee for herself, would give him a piece of bread (crust) with a drop of coffee and a little sugar on it, and for many years this was a kind of lunch treat for him.. . Well, where else can you find such memories?..”
Step 1: Grind the coffee beans.
One of the secrets of making this amazing coffee. This is a special device - a coffee maker, which consists of two vessels, between which there is 2 mesh filters, where finely ground Neapolitan coffee is poured and, unfortunately, without this device, it is impossible to brew real Neapolitan coffee. But don’t worry, you can buy such a coffee maker in supermarkets and online stores.
To begin, take a package of real Neapolitan coffee and open it with scissors. Take a bean grinder and grind the beans to a fine powder. 
And the second secret, in order for the coffee to be a success, grind the coffee through a coffee grinder twice, first the grains and then the resulting mass. Step 2: prepare a cup for Neapolitan coffee.
Take a cup with thick walls. Why thick walls? Because the coffee in such a cup will cool down more slowly, and you will be able to prolong your pleasure from drinking it. And one more secret - dial half a teaspoon freshly ground coffee and pour it into a clean, dry cup. Step 3: brew coffee.
Separate the two halves of the coffee pot, the bottom without a spout from the bottom with a spout. Pull out the filter. Unscrew the filter cap and pour into it 2 tablespoons fresh finely ground coffee and close the filter lid. Pour into the bottom cup without a spout 200 milliliters of water. Do not fill the bowl above the vent level! Place the filter back into the container filled with water. Screw the bowl with the spout onto the bowl filled with water. In this case, the nose should look down. Turn the stove on high and place the coffee maker on it. Bring the water to a boil; when it boils, you will hear it by a characteristic gurgling sound. Remove the coffee maker from the stove. Once the steam has escaped from the vent, which will happen in about 30 – 40 seconds, turn the coffee maker upside down and let the coffee pass through the filters, drop by drop, for 7 – 10 minutes. Remove the top block and pour yourself a cup aromatic coffee through a sieve. The raw coffee that remains at the bottom of the cup will rise to the top, stir the resulting aromatic mass with a teaspoon and wait 1 moment, until the fresh coffee settles to the bottom of the cup. The fresh aroma of brewed coffee and the light but quite perceptible aroma of freshly ground coffee combine and you will feel an indescribable fan of the smells of real Neapolitan coffee. Step 4: Serve coffee Neapolitan style.
Neapolitan coffee served hot. It is poured into cups with thick walls so that it maintains its temperature and can infuse for 1 minute with fresh ground Neapolitan coffee beans. This type of coffee is served without sugar. Jam, sugar, crackers or anything sweet is placed separately in plates or vases. A pleasant drink for the morning to invigorate and fill up with strength. Bon appetit!
- − Sometimes, for those who like it sweeter, sugar is allowed in Neapolitan coffee, but it is not added to the cup of coffee after preparing the drink. Sugar is poured into a bowl with water, the water is brought to a boil and passed through filters with coffee. It turns out very sweet and tasty coffee.
- − In order to brew Neapolitan coffee, you do not have to use Neapolitan coffee. If you have a Neapolitan coffee maker, this drink can be brewed with any very high-quality type of coffee.
- − When preparing this type of coffee, do not change the above recipe, as you may end up with a drink that is too bitter or too bland. - Why do you need to strain coffee after it has been brewed? This process is necessary to ensure that there is less unnecessary sediment in the cup. The old brewed coffee is removed and the decoction itself is poured into the bowl, it is infused for 1 minute with fresh, which eventually settles as sediment at the bottom of the cup, but at the same time gives the freshness and tart aroma of the coffee beans.
For millions of Italians, coffee - be it espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, at home or in a bar, at breakfast or after meals - is an inseparable companion every day.
History of coffee
Espresso / Shutterstock.comThe Italian word "caffè" comes from the Turkish "kahve", which in turn comes from the Arabic "qahwa". The first variety of plant whose grains were used to make a drink was Coffea arabica (Arabian coffee tree); Today, along with it, Coffea robusta (Robusta Coffee) is also used.
The Italian gastronomer Pellegrino Artusi in his famous work “The Science of Nutrition and the Art of Cooking” tasty food" (1891) argued that best coffee made in the Yemeni city of Moha, so it was Yemen that began to be considered the place of origin of the coffee tree. From Arabia, the custom of drinking coffee quickly spread throughout Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, and then throughout Italy - through the mediation of merchants of the Venetian Republic.
The first Italian coffee shop opened in 1683 in Venice, on Piazza San Marco, and a century later there were more than two hundred similar establishments throughout the country. Some - they were called “Philosophical Coffee Houses” - acquired an intellectual component: outstanding thinkers and philosophers gathered there.
However, very soon from Italy the fashion for coffee spread to the rest of Europe, as well as America, and in many countries establishments called “cafes” or “coffee houses” began to appear, where intellectuals and wealthy representatives of the bourgeoisie often gathered. So now it seems difficult to imagine that at first many Europeans did not particularly like the new oriental product: in Italy, for example, this drink of Muslims caused some rejection. The situation changed only in 1600, when Pope Clement VIII declared coffee suitable for Christian consumption.
Naples and coffee
“Let's have some coffee!” This is the most common sentence heard throughout Italy. But it is especially popular in Naples, where the tradition of espresso has taken root, turning into a real ritual that is observed every day, in free time or at work.
Coffee was brought to Naples by Maria Carolina of Austria: when she married King Ferdinand IV in 1768, she brought with her a widespread Viennese custom to the city.
The most important milestone in the history of Neapolitan coffee was the invention in 1819 of the so-called “cuccumella” - a Neapolitan coffee pot, which, thanks to a double filter system, made it possible to alternate the Turkish method of preparation (cooking) with the Venetian one (infusion). With this coffee maker it is now possible to make coffee at home; in the 20th century, when the Neapolitans managed to successfully master the bar espresso machine (invented in Turin in 1884), the “cuccumella” was replaced by a more modern version - “moka”.
Perfect coffee recipe
What is the secret of Neapolitan coffee? The real secret is in the Neapolitan coffee blend and its special roasting, which gives the beans a slightly darker color than in other regions of Italy and the world. A couple of days after such roasting, the essential oils contained in the grains are felt much brighter, and the grains themselves better impart their aroma to the drink.
Naples has a lot of stories and traditions related to coffee. One of the most common is the tradition of “hanging coffee”, which testifies to the generous nature of the local residents. Its essence is that a person, entering a bar, pays for two cups of coffee at once: he drinks one himself, and the second is intended for anyone who asks.
Cafe Gambrinus
Gran Caffè Gambrinus is an old Neapolitan cafe on Via Chiaia. It is named after the legendary King of Flanders, Gambrinus, who is considered the inventor of beer. Gran Caffè Gambrinus is one of the first ten cafes in Italy and is part of the national association of ancient cafes.
The English writer Oscar Wilde frequented this cafe. And in the era of fascism, its importance in public life was so great that Gambrinus, along with other institutions popular among left-wing intellectuals, was completely closed. Today, the coffee and pastries are as delicious as in ancient times, and the setting retains its wonderful atmosphere.
